Angels in Exile (Billy Raftery,2013);South Africa

Reviewed by Steve Mccomb    Viewed at the Metro 4

Angels in Exile is a documentary by Billy Raftery that tells the story of a trip he took in college to Africa looking for some surf. He ended up finding much more than just waves in the city of Durban.

In 2003 Billy took a trip to Africa. He went to the city of Durban and stumbled upon a street kid named Ariel. Billy decided to make a documentary about the kids who lived on the streets in this city. He founded a non-profit called Children Rise in order to help raise funds for the film and make an actual change in the lives of these children. The film is narrated by Charlize Theron and took 10 years to make.

The film follows two street kids named Ariel and Zuleika. These two kids were caught up in a cycle of drugs, abuse and crime for most of their childhoods. Ariel tells his story and opens up about the abuse he experienced as a child and his addiction with huffing glue. Many kids in the street were addicted to huffing glue simply because they have nothing better to do and nothing to hope for. Zuleika is an 11-year-old girl who is HIV positive and has a boyfriend who is also a street kid. She refuses to go live with her sister because she loves her boyfriend. She is not sure who gave her HIV but thinks it might be from her stepfather who raped her. The film also features people who try and help these street kids and create better lives for them. It follows their lives for many years and shows their ups and downs.

This is a very compelling and heart-wrenching movie that captures the audience and makes them feel the pain of the children who they are watching. It portrays things that people often have a hard time watching, but must be seen in order to help create change.